Sam & Max Save the World [Switch] Review – On The Case

Sam & Max Hit the Road was a classic point and click adventure back in 1993 – so when the sequel arrived in the form of Save the World thirteen years later it had a lot to live up to.

It handled these high expectations well though, with developer Telltale Games offering up a title comprising of six episodes that provided more than its fair share of laughs and amusing puzzles.

Fourteen years after its original PC release this Switch remake can’t quite patch up all the game’s flaws and creakier elements – but it’s still a very charming adventure.

Based around the crime-fighting duo of Sam (a towering but soft-hearted wolfhound) and Max (a hyperactive and uncontrollable rabbit), you have to solve a number of cases that end up converging. 

You take on someone hypnotising former child stars, look into the president being under hypnosis, and so on – we’re sure you see a theme emerging, and it’s one that the developers manage to mine a fair amount of amusing situations from.

Sam & Max Hit the Road doesn’t offer up hugely intricate cases for you to solve though – each one takes around three hours – it’s the comedy and writing that are the major draws.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4sK0daP8hY

As you’d imagine the two main characters’ interplay is regularly amusing, and the voice-acting has given a major overhaul from the original. Sometimes the dialogue lacks a little subtlety, but there’s usually a sharp line or bizarre character just round the corner to make up for it.

The puzzle solutions are all fairly sensible, and there’s few which will stump experienced point and click fans – they often follow a satisfyingly oddball sense of logic too.

Back when the game was originally released the episodic structure was unique – whereas we now know it to be a telltale sign (sorry) of a Telltale title. 

We don’t feel it’s a completely satisfying set-up though, and often makes the game feel a little fractured and stop-start. There are sections of the adventure are a bit of a slog as a result.

Sam & Max Save the World is a well put together re-release that gives the original game a much needed HD makeover – but is perhaps only worth a look for fans of the genre.